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U. of C. sets $2 billion goal
April 13, 2002 BY DAVE NEWBART STAFF REPORTER
The University of Chicago publicly launched the second-largest fund-raising campaign in the history of higher education Friday, saying it hoped to raise $2 billion in the next five years. In announcing the "Chicago Initiative,'' officials said they needed the money to stay competitive with schools such as Harvard, Princeton and Stanford in attracting the top students, recruiting the best faculty and completing the most aggressive building campaign since the university was founded in 1890. "This is in its nature a costly business,'' said Don Randel, university president. "That is not just for the sake of keeping up with the Joneses. It's for the sake of . . . what we bring to society and the world.''
Only Harvard has set a higher goal for itself, $2.1 billion. Although a few other schools have passed the $2 billion mark in a five-year campaign, they initially had announced lower targets. U. of C. officials said they were well on their way before publicly announcing the campaign. The university has raised $702 million toward its goal in a 2-1/2-year "quiet period'' leading up to Friday's launch. That amount surpasses the $676 million the school raised in its last campaign from 1991 to 1996. The total pledged to the university to date includes $21 million from Lands' End founder Gary Comer for a new children's hospital; $25 million from DeVry Inc. CEO Dennis Keller for a new graduate business school campus, and $20 million from alum Max Palevsky for residence halls. In all, officials hope for at least $520 million for new facilities, including a 425,000-square-foot research building to house the biological and physical sciences. Officials also hope to raise $445 million for new laboratories and equipment. Another crucial part of the campaign is money for financial aid and faculty salaries. "The most significant investment we will make will be in our people,'' Randel said. "We need to increase support for our students no matter what their economic circumstance is. We need resources that will enable us to continue to attract faculty and support their work.'' The university plans to raise $275 million for faculty, which includes 35 endowed professorships. It also hopes to raise $100 million in aid for undergraduate students and $190 million for graduate students. Although the university fears falling behind competitors, officials acknowledge they are making their push from a position of relative health. The school had 8,100 applicants for fall 2002, the most in its history. Eighty percent of the entering class of 1,082 graduated in the top 10 percent of students in their high schools. Their average SAT score was 1393, 50 points higher than it was just a few years ago. Financially, the school's endowment has tripled to more than $3.5 billion since 1992--although it did take a $250 million hit during the stock market slump. In making their case to alumni, Randel pointed out that the university trails Ivy League institutions in other areas, such as the level of endowment per student. In that category, the university's level ($268,822) is behind several schools, including Harvard ($934,500) and Stanford ($508,353), Randel said. What's more, only 17 percent of the school's financial aid awards come from the endowment, whereas Princeton's endowment covers all financial aid and Harvard's covers 60 percent. "Our students rely more heavily on loans to pay for their education,'' a university document supporting the initiative states. Indeed, the level of financial aid was on the minds of many students on campus Friday. As the university board approved the $2 billion campaign, it also was ratifying a 5 percent increase in undergraduate tuition, room and board to $36,051. Although students welcomed the new push for more aid, some said it was too little, too late. "A lot of people have been dissatisfied with their financial aid packages for years,'' said Kimberly Buxbaum, 21, a history major from Chicago who graduates this spring. "It's too late for someone like me.'' Nicholas Ligato, 21, a pre-med student from Philadelphia, said he doesn't mind the higher tuition if it goes to retain quality faculty. A swimmer, he also likes the plans to build a 50-meter, Olympic-sized pool as part of a new state-of-the-art athletics center. Daniel Nasaw, 21, who along with Buxbaum is a contributing editor to a weekly student newspaper on campus, questioned whether the campaign would meet its goals. The university might have trouble asking money from some alums who are upset at what they believe was a weakening of the school's rigorous curriculum a few years back. "We think people are going to be less likely to contribute,'' Nasaw said. But Edgar Jannotta, chairman of the university's board and also head of the William Blair & Co. investment firm, has no doubt the campaign will succeed, particularly considering the money the school has raised despite tough economic times. "We are well-positioned,'' he said.
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